Kia Ceed 1.6 T-GDi GT
By Tim Saunders
“Do you have to do that?” questions my wife Caroline, as I put my foot to the floor in the Kia Ceed 1.6 T-GDi GT hatchback. She doesn’t like being jolted awake when I spot a gap in the traffic and just have to overtake. It’s a glorious day and with the windows down the roar of the exhaust as the engine is worked hard, is audible. It is a boyracer’s delight. I know I know. But you can’t drive a car like this without putting it through it’s paces.
We take it on an outing to Wells, Somerset and the journey from our home in Hampshire takes a good couple of hours. Using the sat nav we are guided down the A303 past Stonehenge, which is looking stunning as ever. “What is it?” asks oldest daughter Harriett (9). “It’s a Neolithic monument,” I reply, sounding knowledgeable. Later research shows that it is in fact the oldest such monument anywhere in Europe and it is a wonder of the world. And so although this route adds almost 20 miles to our journey how can I possible be annoyed with the satellite navigation?
The trouble with driving a car like this is that other road users do love to take it on, which is slightly irksome. They seem to see those delightful twin exhausts and the subtle GT emblem on the boot and it’s like a red rag to a bull. On the return journey even a clapped out Mazda campervan takes to sitting on the bumper while I religiously stick to the speed limits. I get fed up at one point and exiting a roundabout leave him for dust. The low down oomph from this delightful 200bhp engine is thoroughly enjoyable. A Jaguar in front thinks that it can get away from it. Up to the national speed limit on the dual carriageway it cannot. Only when the driver continues way past 70mph does it achieve this. We cover almost 200 miles on this return journey and on the way back the sat nav guides us along the A36 via Salisbury; it’s nice to come back a different way. So it would appear that this car will travel about 400 miles on a tank and the computer tells me that it’s returning just under 40mpg.
Outside this attractive looking sports hatch, which reminds me of the Mercedes Benz A-Class, is black. There’s a sports grille, red brake callipers and expensive looking alloy wheels. Inside, the cabin is also black. It comes with air conditioning, all round electric windows, power folding wing mirrors, heated front seats and even a heated steering wheel.
For those looking for an adrenalin rush, take this Kia for a spin.
